Tuesday, October 2, 2012

September Empties!

Oh yeah, we continue to fly through 2012! I'm not really excited about this but I do love me some Fall weather! It feels quite rainy and tropical here in NC at the moment...

Hmm... Where shall I start? Maybe with my favorites this month!

1. LUSH Twilight Bath Bomb: Oh em gee... Yeah this bomb is the bomb. I really sound lame here but I absolutely need to repurchase this but my practical side is really deterring me. $5.95 for one use. I tried to break it up (practical or cheap?) but it really ruins the experience. Use it full on and just make sure you have some uninterrupted bath time. Like put the kids (animals) and hubby (boyfriend) to bed and make sure they are asleep. Plus I had no idea that it had glitter in it when I used just a piece of it! I do wish the glitter was a shimmer that stayed on the body after soaking, but then again I am a bit old to be walking around all sparkly. But it smells wonderful, like a sweet lavender, maybe some vanilla. It leaves the skin smelling nice and feeling soft and smooth. It really is relaxing. I probably need to get the shower gel as well, but again the practical side of me... Screw that side, I need some sanity in my life and this might be the one thing to restore it! :)

2. Scent Sationals Wickless Fragrance Cubes Zen: I picked these up at Walmart for $2. I use them in the master bathroom so the smell permeates into the bedroom. Kind of smells a bit like Old Spice...maybe... but definitely masculine borderline metro so I figured the smell would work for both myself and my husband. It is very soothing. However with the $2 price tag, the scent lasts maybe 3 days tops and you have to add another cube or 2. Going through 6 cubes in a week is not very cost effective. I don't have a lot of experience with Scentsy except for "Leather coach" (gag me) and "Nursery" (choking on baby powder) but I know they last a lot longer and are re-usable. But this brand is readily available and I can pick it up anytime.

3. & 4. Sebastian Color Ignite shampoo and conditioner: I love this duo. I like the way they both make my hair feel and I love that the conditioner comes out like a foamy mousse. It adds moisture and shine without weighing the hair down. Lovely stuff. Need to purchase full sizes but definitely of the conditioner.

5. Benefit Erase Paste Medium: :( This really saddens me. The other night my son came down the stairs with makeup smeared all over his face, arms, legs, everywhere. Uh oh. Recently I have been keeping the room where my vanity (old small kitchen table, lol) is locked but for some reason it wasn't. Big mistake. He took a makeup brush and went to town. This is a tiny jar but he was able to cover his body and a 2'x2' area on the rug. Such a mess. But I need to repurchase. I use this every day. It is amazing. For a while I thought I needed the lighter shade but medium works perfectly to neutralize that light purple I sometimes get just underneath the inner portion of my eye. I have been curious about the Giorgio Armani Master Corrector but price-wise, it's way out of my league especially as my circles right now are quite minor. Benefit works very nicely for my needs.

6. Alessandro Pedix Feet Heel Rescue Balm: I wouldn't consider this a "balm" but it's a nice, thicker lotion, perfect for slathering on the hands and feet before bed. I don't suffer from dry, cracked heels but I do get tough dry skin on the side of my big toe (annoying) and the tips of my 2nd and 3rd toes. I mean complaining about something so minor seems so wrong but I do have to work a bit to keep my feet soft. I didn't feel that this was a miracle cure, but it was a nice lotion to use. This was my second one from my double August Glossybox.

7. B&BW Sensual Amber: I feel like this was already an empty? But it was in this month's box so I will review it again? This is my all-time favorite scent from B&BW. I went into BB&W recently, well about 3 weeks ago from not stepping foot in there for close a year and I noticed some changes. One they don't have Sensual Amber in a small travel size anymore because I wanted to pick another up. Secondly, the sales team doesn't annoyingly stalk you. I actually had to ask for help not once but twice. It was surreal. But I picked up a couple travel sizes of Cashmere Glow, I got one for free and another one for a $1 because they were promoting it. Cashmere Glow is very nice too but I will need another Sensual Amber.

8. Crest Pro-Health Clean Cinnamon: I threw this in here because this is the very last tube that was underneath the sink. 13 tubes of toothpaste in 9 months. My mom actually gave this to me because she didn't realize she picked up cinnamon. I didn't mind it but I would rather brush my teeth with mint. It just feels...right. :)

9. Julep Glycolic Hand Scrub: This should have went right underneath the LUSH Twilight Bath Bomb. I love this stuff! This is a small tube but used sparingly, it lasts a few months. I think I got this last December or in January's Julep Maven box. This scrub is like none other. It works, plan and simple. I don't really want to spend $32 on a full size but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. And she must take care of her hands like she would her face and décolletage. :)

10. LUSH Whoosh: And whoosh is what it did down the drain when my son got a hold of it. Let me explain... It's a jello like body wash. I couldn't really figure out the best way to use it. I tried taking out the entire blob out but it expanded slightly and it was difficult to hold. Then I tried to break it up into a piece but even a small piece was difficult to use. And before I got a real chance to use it my son dumped it into the tub and down it went. It had a nice citrus-y scent. I don't feel the need to repurchase. And there are parabens in it. I didn't realize that until just now. :(

11. Dessert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba Oil: This was the first bottle of jojoba oil I ever purchased last summer so I don't have anything to compare it to just yet. Well yes I do because I just bought a replacement in a different organic brand. I think the organic brand is a bit lighter. But I bought this to use in my Castor Oil mixture to wash my face. I really enjoy the oil cleansing method, when I have an extra few minutes at night. However the water from the tap doesn't get a hot as I would like it so it takes longer to steam my face.

12. ANEW Clinical Advanced Retexturing Peel: I really liked these pads until I tried the ANEW Rejuvenate Glycolic Facial Treatment. Serious results with the latter. The retexturing peel pads felt like they were working (slight sting/burn) but there wasn't any real noticeable differences now that I think back. They just were a part of my routine. However with the Glycolic Facial Treatment, you see results the next morning. I need to do a review. I think it's already discontinued or just repackaged and renamed. Hate it when AVON does that. I'm actually using 2 other products from AVON that I really like too. I stopped using them for a week and my face went haywire. However it does this when the weather changes and when I eat like crap. 2 things that have happened simultaneously this past week. We had my son's 2 year birthday party on Saturday, can you say sugar overload? Yeah, my skin is mad at me too. The weather cooled down significantly and there was no humidity and now the past couple of days it has warmed up, rainy and tropically humid. Why?!

I guess the next few items are not items that I have used up but ones that need to be discarded due to respecting expiration dates. It's that time of year folks! I really clean out in the Fall. I've been feeling the urge to purge. Selling things on Craigslist, a local yard sale site, eBay and my blog! Oh yeah. Feels good to have less. It really does. I mean I still have a ton of "product" as my mom calls it. But I'm a beauty blogger... I have an excuse. :)

13. AVON Smooth Minerals Radiance: I've had this, untouched for probably 4 years? I thought I liked it but I tried it recently and I can't even see if on my skin. Time to pitch.

13. Physicians Formula Organic Wear black tube: This got horrible reviews and it is just that horrible. I was able to get it for free at CVS a very long time ago. Finally opened it up and it is just crap, dry crap. Total waste of plastic. I love the green tube so much. Weird they are so different and why did they even come out with this one at all. Very strange coming from PF.

14. Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Mascara Duo for Blue Eyes: I never really used the blue side but the black side really made my eyes pop. Nice mascara. It has the same wand as the green tube organic mascara which I love. I just had it for too long and it was time to pitch. Ladies, we are only supposed to keep out mascaras for 3 months. I had this over a year. lol

15. Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara: I didn't like the wand on this. It's the bigger fluffy one that deposits too much product. I was hoping it would dry out a little and work better. It's a nice mascara, but my lashes are very straight so I need a dryer formula with very good hold. This just didn't do it for me. It was a sample I think from Sephora.

16. AVON Naturals grapefruit & mint shimmering body lotion: I have had this forever and I just couldn't wait to use it up. There is nothing wrong with it. Smells nice, leaves a subtle shimmer on the body, not extremely moisturizing, didn't make my daughter's skin react... It has a nice light summer scent. I mean it's been under the sink for years, I may have had it since VA so that is going back 5 years unopened. Probably way past it's prime but waste not want not! I'm using everything up baby!

17. Garnier Nutrisse Nourishing Color Foam 41 M Ice Mahogany Dark Brown: I bought this for a cheap root touch up, and sigh... that's what I got. I had John Frieda Precision Foam Color in Dark Chocolate Brown and this in my hands. One was $12 the other $7.50 at Walmart. I should have just gone to Sally's and grabbed another bottle of the L'OREAL Professionals Mega Browns ($8) but of course I am a glutton for punishment. Garnier did not over my grays at all. I will have to re-color my roots in a couple of weeks. Total waste of $7.50. The color is fine. A bit darker than the picture as all dark browns are but just didn't do anything for my gray unfortunately. But no regrets. I've picked this color up a dozen times to try. As well as the John Frieda and Chocolate Brown. I will probably try that next. lol

18. Rite Aid Make-up Remover Towelettes: Finally done with these hand wipes. I won't use them on my face. Way too rough and they don't really remove my makeup unless you scrub. Not good for the lashes!

So there you have it! September empties. I just ran out and put them at the curb. Today is garbage day!

A little disclaimer...

As you may already know, all product reviews and opinions expressed on Savvy Beauty are that of my own. I love all things beauty and whether or not I buy products for myself or on the rare occasion that I receive a product for review, only honest opinions based upon my personal experience will be shared.